All Episodes
Parsha — 366 episodes
פָּרָשַׁת תְּצַוֶּה תשפ”ו – The source of Moses’ moral authority
הַפְטָרַת פָּרָשַׁת תְּרוּמָה תשפ”ו Was Shomo’s Temple popular?
פָּרָשַׁת תְּרוּמָה תשפ”ו – Stationary and Mobile
הַפְטָרָה פָּרָשַׁת שְׁקָלִים תשפ”ו – Fundraising techniques 2800 years ago
הַפְטָרַת פָּרָשַׁת מִשְׁפָּטִים תשפ”וו – Facing doom but still unable to let go of their (illegally held) Hebrew slaves
פָּרָשַׁת מִשְׁפָּטִים תשפ”ו – Saadia Gaon’s remarkable in sight into the Torah’s statement re: Kidnapping
הפטרת פרשת יתרו תשפ”ו – The Great Hall in Heaven Filled with smoke
פָּרָשַׁת יִתְרוֹ 2026 – The Chronology Problem
פָּרָשַׁת יִתְרוֹ תשפ”ו חָתָן וְחוֹתֵן
Haftarah Parshas Beshalach 2026 – Was Yael a Judge?
Parshas Beshalach: What was the nature of Moshe’s reputation among the Egyptians?
Parshas Bo: When did Moses become humble?
פָּרָשַׁת וָאֵרָא תשפ”ו – Two opposing traditions re: what language the Jews spoke in Egypt
הַפְטָרָה פָּרָשַׁת שְׁמוֹת תשפ”ו – A Glimpse into Isaiah’s Utopia
Parshas Shemos: Yaakov the Successful Parent
Parshas VaYechi: What was the “Acharis HaYamim” that Yaakov wanted to reveal to his sons?
Parshas VaYigash: Not saying dumb things that will hurt the Jewish People
Haftarah Parshas VaYigash: The vision of grafting the two trees together
Parshas VaYigash: Was Joseph actually the VICEROY, the ruler of Egypt? Or czar of the economy?
Parshas Mikeitz: Yosef, the first “Court Jew”
Parshas VaYeshev – Yaakov and Yosef “wake up,” but too late!
Parshas VaYeshev: The remarkable tale of the character-development of Joseph
Parshas VaYishlach: Why does Jacob say to Esau that he observed all 613 Mitzvos?
Parshas VaYeitzei: What is Yaakov afraid of?
Parshas Toldos: Was Yitzchak Avinu poverty-stricken (Ibn Ezra)?
הַפְטָרָה פָּרָשַׁת חַיֵּי שָׂרָה תשפ”ו Adonijah vs. Shlomo: the Background
Parshas Chayei Sarah: Why does Avrohom adjure Eliezer not to take a wife from the Bnos Knaani for Yitzchok?
Parshas VaYera: The Rashbam’s unique take on Abraham’s encounter with the Three Angels
Parshas Lech Lecha: “And he will be a wild donkey of a man…”
Parshas Noach: Noah and “the Day After”
Parshas Bereishis: The world was created for a UNITED Klal Yisroel
Parshas Ha’azinu:זְכֹר יְמוֹת עוֹלָם, אֲבָל בִּינוּ שְׁנוֹת דּוֹר וָדוֹר
Parshas VaYelech: Hester Panim
Parshas Nitzavim: Trying to match the glorious prophecy with recent Jewish history
Parshas Ki Savo: The Abarbanel v. the Netziv
פָּרָשַׁת כִּי תֵּצֵא תשפ”ה – יְפַת תֹּאַר בְּעוֹלַם הַקַּבָּלָה
פָּרָשַׁת כִּי תֵּצֵא תשפ”ה – יְפַת תֹּאַר בְּעוֹלַם הַקַּבָּלָה
Moses’ warning: אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל can easily become a קְלָלָה! Parshas RE’EH
Parshas Re’eh: Keep the booze out of the house of the fellow in recovery
Moses and the Bones of Joseph: Two different models of Jewish leadership? Parshas Eikev
Parashas Eikev: The Wild Beasts
Parshas VaEschana: Zachor or Shamor? Is the Sabbath theology or history?
פָּרָשַׁת וָאֶתְחַנָּן תשפ”ה – וְנוֹשַׁנְתֶּם
Parshas Devarim: The strange story of how the Transjordan was divided-up by Moses, not G-d
Parshas Matos 5785 What happened to the kids of the two and a half tribes while the fathers were away fighting on the other side of the Jordan River?
Parshas Matos-Masei: The War of Revenge in Midian and the War Against Hamas in Gaza
Parshas Pinchas: The Bloody Discrepancies
Bilam’s observation of הֶן עָם לְבָדָד יִשְׁכֹּן and the current phenomenon of Jews being abandoned by their supposed “allies”
Parshas Balak: Bil’am and the Current War in Gaza
Parshas Chukas: The Cedar, Hyssop, and Crimson Wool – The Three Types of Worshipers of the Golden Calf?
Parshas Korach: The Even Ezra – An EGREGIOUS example of אֵין מֻקְדָּם וּמְאֻחָר בַּתּוֹרָה !
Parshas Shelach: The Flaw in Intelligence Procedures That Resulted in the Sad Episode of the Meraglim
Parshas Behaaloschah: What is the meaning of the strange phrase :”בְּכָל בֵּיתִי נֶאֱמָן הוּא”?
Parshas Naso: The Sotah and Structurally flawed marriages
Shavuos and Yisro: Why does the story of Yisro precede מַתַּן תּוֹרָה? Hpw did Yisro create אַחְדוּת among כְּלַל יִשְׂרָאֵל?
Parshas Bamidbar: Abarbanel – The Levites too were enslaved in Egypt!
Parshas Behar-Bechukosai: King David, the Brachos in the Parsha, and Depression
Parshas Emor: May a kohen marry a promiscuous woman?
Parshas Achrei Mos-Kedoshim: Why is the Yom Kippur Ritual associated with the deaths of Nadav and Avihu?
Parshas Tazria-Metzora: Biblical Leprosy and Its Role in Promoting Sincere Social Relations
Parshas Shmini: Nadav and Avihu
Parshas Tzav (Erev Pesach) – Changing attitudes towards the Temple Sacrifices
Haftarah Parshas VaYikra: “הֶעֱבַדְתַּנִי בְּחַטֹּאותֶיךָ הוֹגַעְתַּנִי בַּעֲוֹנֹתֶיךָ
Parshas VaYikra: הַקָּרְבָּנוֹת לְעֻמַּת הַקָּרְבָּן פֶּסַח
Parshas HaChodesh: The seemingly disjuncted narrative
Parshas Pekudei- מִי הָיוּ לֵצָנֵי הַדּוֹר
Haftarah Parshas Parah- Jewish misconduct in the lands of exile
Parshas VaYakhel- No fire outside the miskan, but yes fire inside the mishkan!
Parshas Ki Sisa (Shoshana Purim): The Eigel and Purim
Parshas Tetzaveh: Was Aaron chosen for the priesthood before the episode of the Golden Calf?
Parshas Mishpatim: Creating a sacred polity is harder than creating a holy individual
Parshas Yisro: The oath Moshe swore to Yisro re: Gershom, Pt. 2
Parshas Yisro: Yisro brings Gershom, whom he has already “ruined,” hence the tense relationship
פָּרָשַׁת בְּשַׁלַּח תשפ”ה – Some Jews armed themselves to battle the Philistines when they left Egypt. Others were cowardly
Parshas Bo: Were there apostates (משומדים) already at the time of יציאת מצרים?
Parshas VaEra: Redemption without repentance?
Parshas Shmos: A Three Day Holiday?
Parshas VaYigash: Why did Joseph supply his brothers with literally all their need?
Parshas Mikeitz: Joseph the first “galus yid” in history
Parshas VaYeshev: Contrasting the sibling relationships between the 12 brothers of the Joseph story and the 5 brothers of the Macabee story
Shechem – Some of the Brothers Killed, Other Brothers Looted (Parshas VaYishlach)
Parshas VaYishlach: The challenges of Jewish survival in hostile environments
Parshas Toldos: The Palestinian (Plishti) Peace Proposal
Parshas Chayei Sarah: Oy shidduchim, shidduchim
Parshas VaYera: The הַשְׁגָּחָה פְּרָטִית in the sequence of events in the Abraham story
Parshas Lech Lecha: The conquest of Semitic Israel by Hamitic invaders
Parshas Lech Lecha: Abraham and Shem
The Story of Nimrod- Who was he? (Parshas Noach)
Parshas V’Zos HaBrachah: G-d offers the Torah to the other nations but they turn down the offer
Where is the Garden of Eden? (Parshas Bereishis)
Parshas Ha’azinu: The speech of Moshe to the elites (having given up on the masses)
Parshas Nitzavim-VaYelech: Above all, Moshe fears the hypocrites in his audience
Haftarah Parshas Ki Savo – Isaiah paints the Jewish Utopia
Parshas Ki Savo: The Terrible Tochecha – Why is Devarim’s worse than VaYikra’s?
Parshas Ki Seitzei: Amalek in Our Parsha and the Attack on October 7
Parshas Shoftim: The False Prophet in Jewish History
Haftorah Parshas Re’eh – The glorious house with the diamond chandeliers
Parshas Re’eh: “V’Yishavtem Betach-” Secure Internally? Or Externally?
Parshas Eikev: The 3 Great Dangers
The Role of Moshe in the “Second” Ten Commandments (Parshas VaEschanan)
Parshas VaEschanan: Gratitude and Ingratitude
Haftarah Parshas Chazon: Isaiah blasts the hypocrisy of the Jewish leadership class
Parshas Devarim: A Geographical Nightmare
Revenge, the Current Middle East Crisis and Parshas Matos
Parshas Matos-Masei: Why the Jews could not get Egypt out of their systems even after 42 journeys
Parshas Pinchas: Bilaam, Pinchas and the Hamas Attacks
Parshas Chukas: What EXACTLY was the sin of Moshe?
How could Korach successfully challenge the bona fides of Moses? After מַתַּן תּוֹרָה!
Parshas Shlach and October 7th
Parshas BeHaaloscha: Who is חוֹבׇב exactly?
Parshas Bechukosai: The תוכחה was pronounced right after the Ten Commandments
Parshas Behar: The theory that both בְּהַר בְּחֻקּוֹתַי were pronounced in פָּרָשַׁת מִשְׁפָּטִים
Parshas Emor: The existential struggle against worshipping כּוֹחוֹת הַטֻּמְאָה
Parshas Kedoshim: Does one size fit all?
Parshas Acharei Mos: Was Aharon a born אוֹהֵב שָׁלוֹם וְרוֹדֵף שָׁלוֹם, or did he become one?
Parshas Metzora: Why Did Tzaraas Cease
Parshas Tazria: If the marchers for Hamas were stricken with צרעת, would they change?
Parshas Shmini: A reason for the deaths of Aaron’s two sons
Parshas Shmini: What is the meaning of the statement that Nadav & Avihu were שְׁתוּיֵי יַיִן?
Parshas Tzav: The concept of sacrifice in the Temple, as well as in the current war in Gaza
Parshas VaYikra: The Primarily Educative Nature of the Korbanos
Purim and Parshas VaYikra: What’s Up With the Angels, the Korbanos, and Vashti?
Parshas Pekudei: When is a Mishkan a Full-Blown Mishkan? And When is it Just a Glorified בָּמָה?
Parshas VaYakhel: Why Make Keruvim After the Fiasco of the Golden Calf?
Parshas Ki Sisah: What ever happened to the tablets Moshe shattered?
Parshas Ki Sisah: What exactly was the אִסּוּר of making an image of Hashem?
Parshas Tetzaveh: Use of the Spoils of Egypt for the Mishkan
Parshas Terumah: Will the Third Temple have any technology?
Parshas Mishpatim: Warning About the Keruvim in the Temple
Parshas Yisro: Was Yisro a good guy? The arguments in favor
Parshas Yisro: What is the meaning of the babyish truculence of the Jews at the Red Sea?
Parshas Beshalach: The Connection Between Circumcision and Krias Yam Suf
Parshas Bo: Why Exactly is Moses Commanded לַחֲלֹק כָּבוֹד לַמַּלְכוּת?
Parshas Bo: What does G-d mean when He says He will punish the gods of Egypt?
What is Going on With the Conversation re: אֶהיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה? (Parshas VaEra)
Parshas VaEra: How Did the Jews Maintain Their Family Units Under Slavery ?
Parshas Shmos: If they had yeshivos in Egypt, why did most Jews go off the derech?
Parshas VaYechi: Joseph’s class-act in burying Jacob next to Leah
Parshas VaYechi: An Original Interpretation of Why Yehudah Got the Malchus- from the מֶשֶׁךְ חֲכָמָה
Parshas VaYigash: Joseph’s References to His Kavod
Again, Why Didn’t Viceroy Joseph Contact His Father? (Parshas Mikeitz)
Parshas Mikeitz: Joseph uses his prison time to learn Egyptian culture and politics
Parshas VaYeshev: Oy, מַעֲשֵׂה אָבוֹת סִימָן לַבָּנִים in a Negative Way – the Sale of Joseph
Parshas VaYishlach: Shimon & Levi – Proportionate Response?
Parshas VaYetzei: Jacob’s Character Development in This Parsha
Parshas Toldos: The Difference Between the Relationships of יִצְחָק וְיִשְׁמָעֵאל vs. יַעֲקֹב וְעֵשָׂו
Parshas Chayei Sarah: Abraham and Ephron in Light of Current Events
Parshas VaYera: Why was Abraham Personally Invested in the Fate of Sodom?
Parshas Lech Lecha: The First Hostage Rescue Mission in History
Parshas Bereishis: G-d Decided to Take the Land Away From Them and Give It to Us.
Parshas V’Zos HaBrachah: An Explication of the Enigmatic Passage מְעוֹנָה אֱלֹהֵי קֶדֶם
Parshas HaAzinu: The Powerful Pessimism of HaAzinu
Parshas Netzavim-VaYelech: Moses’ Demand for Perfection Runs into Human Nature
Parshas Ki Savo: Abarbanel Applies the תּוֹכָחָה to the Marranos
Parshas Ki Seitzei: Is the Yefas Toar Just פָּשׁוּט פְּשַׁט, or is It a Wider Metaphor Too?
Parshas Re’eh and Jewish History: The Existential Tension in Jewish History Between the Centralizers and the Decentralizers
Parshas Re’eh: What is the Meaning of לְשִׁכְנוֹ תִדְרְשׁוּ וּבָאתָ שָׁמָּה?
Parshas Eikev: Why the Strange Phrase “וְאָכַלְתָּ אֶת כָּל הָעַמִּים “?
Parshas VaEschanan: Moshe Says That the חֻקִּים Will Inspire the Admiration of the Gentiles. Why?
Parshas Devarim: Why Are Some Laws Only in Devarim?
Parshas Matos: Wars of Revenge?
Parshas Pinchas: What is the Meaning of the Vague Phrase: אֱלֹהֵי הָרוּחֹת לְכָל בָּשָׂר?
Parshas Balak: Unlike Balaam, the Patriarchs built 7 altars but did not offer sacrifices on them
Parshas Chukas: Are the Two Stories of Hitting the Rock (בשלח and חוקת) One and the Same?
The Burning of the Talmud in Paris on Parshas Chukas- Memory vs. History
Parshas Korach: Korach and the Power of “Spin”
Parshas Shelach: What is the Meaning of כִּי לַחְמֵנוּ הֵם?
Parshas BeHaaloscha: Did Moshe Marry an Ethiopian גִּיּוֹרֶת after מַתַּן תּוֹרָה?
Parshas Naso: Some Thoughts re: The approach of HaRav Gershon Edelstein, זצ”ל
Parshas Bamidbar: The Logistics of the March from Sinai to the Promised Land
Parshas Emor: Did the Blasphemer Curse G-d? Or G-d’s Name?
Parshas Acharei Mos-Kedoshim: Blood and the “Battle” Between the Beis HaMikdash and the Bamos
Parshas Tazria-Metzora: What is Unique About the Leprous House?
Parshas Tzav: The Two Types of Sin Offerings: Outer and Inner
Parshas Vayikrah: Speaking to Moshe From the אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, Not From the Adjacent Mt. Sinai
Parshas Vayakhel-Pekudei: The Human Logistics of the Fundraising Campaign (Mishkan)
Parshas Ki Sisa: The Second Tablets Contained More Than the First Tablets
Parshas Tetzaveh: The Moreh Nevuchim’s Take on the Splendid Bigdei Kehunah
Parshas Beshalach: The Complaints Against Moshe’s Leadership – “Heading the Wrong Way!”
Parshas Bo: Why Does Moshe Deviate from His Instructions?
Parshas VaEra: The Role of Aaron in the Exodus Story – Negotiator with the Egyptians, acc. to Rashi
Parshas Shmos: The Individual Unique Experience of G-d vs. the Common Joint Experience
Parshas VaYigash: Joseph has a Whole Plan of Revenge, but in the End He Couldn’t Go-Through With It
Parshas VaYeshev: How Did Joseph Handle His Mistreatment Psychologically? I Mean, נְחָשִׁים וְעַקְרַבִּים!
Parshas VaYishlach: Esav Felt Cheated, but Didn’t Allow that to Define His Life – He Built His Own
Parshas VaYeitzei: Why did Yaakov Kiss Rachel? Why did He Cry?
Parshas Toldos: Why was it Predestined That in This Family, the Siblings Should Not Get Along?
Parshas Chayei Sara: Abraham, Efron, and “The Art of the Deal”
The Flood – Who Won in the End G-d or the Snake? (Parshas Noach)
Parshas Bereishis: Is It the Snake or the Yetzer Hara?
The Intermediate Days Between Yom Kippur and Sukkos in Light of Parshas Haazinu – An Analysis
Parshas Haazinu: Did receiveing the Torah leave Moshe physically and psychologically spent?
Parshas VaYelech: G-d Tells Moshe It Will All Fall Apart After He Dies
Parshas Nitzavim: What Exactly are the נִסְתָּרוֹת וְהַנִּגְלוֹת? The Approach of Gersonides
The Real Reason G-d, Not the Jews, Buried Moses
How Could the Jews Back a בֵּן סוֹרֵר וּמוֹרֶה ( Absalom) as King? (Parshas Ki Seitzei)
Parshas Shoftim: The Strange Attraction Egypt Exercises on Jews
What is the Significance of מוּל בֵּית פְּעוֹר as the Place Moses Repeated the 10 Commandments? (Parshas VaEschanan)
Parshas Devarim: The Strange Story of the Invasion Og’s Kingdom
Parshas Matos-Maasei: The Massacre of the Women and Children
Parshas Pinchas: After 40 years of Miracles Etc., the Jews Came This-Close to Extermination…
Parshas Balak: In Hiring Bilaam, was Balak Confusing Cause and Effect?
Parshas Chukas: Moses Deviates from His Instructions re: Edom, and Pays the Price
Korach and the Art of Timing (Parshas Korach)
Parshas Shelach: The מְרַגְּלִים Then…and Now
Parshas BeHaaloscha: A Storehouse of Biblical Rhetoric From Moshe and From HaShem
Parshas Naso: Why are Sotah and Nazir Davka in This Week’s Parsha?
Parshas Bamidbar: Recruiting an Army That was Not Destined to Fight
Was the Holocaust Indeed the Tochacha? – An Analysis (Parshas Bechukosai)
G-d is Not Only the Author, He is Also the Editor (Parshas Behar)
Parshas Emor: Nowadays We Have to Warn the קְטַנִּים re: the גְּדוֹלִים!
Parshas Kedoshim: What Does Hashem Mean When He Says He is קָדוֹשׁ
Parshas Acharei Mos: What Error of Aaron’s Sons is Rectified?
The Special-Role of Hyssop in Purifying Tzaraas and in the Original Passover (Parshas Metzora)
Parshas Tazria: Lashon Hara and צָרַעַת. Did Everyone Who Spoke It Get Tzaraas? It Doesn’t Seem So
Parshas Shmini: Aaron was Publicly, Ashamed, But Not Moses! (The Noam Elimelech vs. the Kli Yakar)
Parshas Tzav: Why Does Hashem Want Presents (מְנָחוֹת)?
Parshas Zachor and Parshas Vayikra: Contrasting the Rhetoric in Vayikra and the Rhetoric of Samuel’s Criticism of Saul
Parshas Pikudei: When Moshe Spoke to G-d, Why Did He Care What All the Hockers Were Saying?
The Gold and Silver: Was It Originally From the Egyptians or From the Jews? (Parshas VaYakhel)
Parshas VaYakhel: Was the Mishkan a Physical “Substitute” for Moshe to Steady the People?
The Golden Calf: Who Exactly Made It? (Parshas Ki Sisa)
The Tzitz – What Exactly was Its Role? The Interpretation of the Rashbam (Parshas Tetzaveh)
The Command to Build a Mishkan – A Response to Moshe’s Request to See G-d’s Face? (Parshas Terumah)
Is Shabbos Only for Jews or is There a Part of It That Applies to Gentiles? (Parshas Mishpatim)
Chronology and the Torah: The Narration Our Parshas MIshpatim and the Debate About Whether It is in Chronological Order
Is Unity More Important Than Mitzvah-Observance? (Parshas Yisro)
Moses the Rhetorician (Parshas Beshalach)
Parshas Bo: Moshe was Relentlessly Recruited for His Suffering When Other Jews Suffered
Parshas Shmos: Did the Jews Cause Their Enslavement By Their Real-Estate Tactics?
Parshas VaYechi: Did Yaakov Give Shechem to the Descendants of Prince Shechem?
Parshas VaYigash: Why Present a Whole Story on How Joseph Bought Up All the Real-Estate?
Joseph’s Economic Plan: Did G-d Tell Him or Did He Come Up With It on the Spot? (Parshas Mikeitz)
Parshas VaYeshev: Did the Brothers Realize Their Father Would Never Get Over It?
Jacob & Esau: A Mediated Encounter vs. Shechem & Dinah: An Unmediated Encounter (Parshas VaYishlach)
Parshas VaYetzei: Yaakov’s State of Mind When He Stops and Dreams
The Story of Rivkah: What Was Her Age? Did She Go to Shem V’Ever or Have an Epiphany on Mt. Moriah?
Eliezer – The Snoopy Shadchan (Parshas Chayai Sarah)
Why Does Lot Resent Abraham? Family Tensions (Parshas Lech Lecha)
Greece (Yefes) – Ironically Blessed for Covering a Naked Body (Parshas Noach)
Parshas Noach: Noah After the Flood – A Different Form of Paradise Lost
Parshas Bereishis: What Does G-d Mean When He Says ” Adam is Like One of Us?”
Parshas Haazinu: Just Before He Dies, Moshe Has the Jews Memorize a Scary Poem
Parshas Nitzavim: Moses Fears That Nostalgia for Egypt May Trump 40 Years of Miracles in the Desert
Parshas Ki Savo: Is the Speech We Read Identical With the One Delivered By Moses? Or is It Edited?
Parshas Ki Seitzei: The Strange Law About the Captive Woman.
Parshas Shoftim: How Can You Raise an Army If You Let All the “Chickens” Leave?
Parshas Shoftim: Moses’ Seemingly Confusing Political System
Parshas Re’eh: Moses Warns Against Seeking Novel Religious Experiences
Parshas Eikev: Was Moshe Responding Emotionally to the Faces and Expressions of His Audience?
Parshas VaEschanan: Why Was Moses Commanded to “Buck-Up” Joshua?
Parshas Devarim: Are These Moshe’s Actual Words? Or G-d’s Editing of Them?
Parshas Matos-Maasai: Is Revenge a Jewish Value? Nationally? Individually?
Parshas Pinchos: Did the Sin of Moabite Women Really Deserve Total Extermination?
Parshas Chukas: The Well of Miriam – What Exactly Was It?
Parshas Korach: Moses v. Korach – The Fickle Public Went For the Rich Guy in the Empty Suit
Parshas Shelach: The Meraglim and the Canaanites – Who Was More Scared?
Parshas Behaaloscha: The Political Message of the Menorah
Parshas Naso: The Adulterous Wife vs. the Hypocritical Husband
Parshas Bamidbar: The Flags – The Existential Struggle Between the Different Forces in Klal Yisroel
Parshas Behar-Bechukosai: The Tochachah – The Fate of the Survivors, the Nisharim.
Parshas Emor: The Kohen vs. the Talmid Chacham. Two Different Models of Elitism
Parshas Acharei Mos-Kedoshim: What is the Precise Meaning of “Kedoshim Tihiyu?”
Parshas Tazria-Metzora: Leprosy a Punishment for Lashon Hara – Really?
Parshas Shmini: Nadav and Avihu – What Exactly Happened?
Parshas Tzav: Reciting Korbanos vs. Understanding Korbanos
Parshas VaYikrah: King David’s Anguish at His Inability to Defend the Korbanos in Debate with Gentiles and Heretics
The Most Difficult Haftorah of the Year (Haftarah Parshas HaChodesh)
Parshas VaYakhel-Pekudei: Which Has Worked Better? Mishkan or Shabbos?
Parshas Ki Sisa: Where Does It Say You May Not Make an Idol of Hashem?
Parshas Tetzaveh: Aaron’s Splendid Clothes and His Splendid Temperament
Parshas Trumah: Why Did G-d REQUEST a Mishkan, But Seemed Not Interested At All in a Bais Hamikdash?
Parshas Mishpatim: Onkelos, His Audience, and Seeing G-d Standing Next to a Sapphire Brick
Parshas Yisro: Why the Preoccupation With Staying Away From the Mountain?
Parshas Beshalach: Why Did Miriam Organize a Dance at the Red Sea?
Parshas Bo: Why Does G-d Deceive Pharaoh With That Request to Leave for Only Three Days?
Parshas VaEra: Why Show Respect to a Bum Like Pharaoh?
Parshas Shmos (2020): Unpacking the Hotel Incident – Did G-d Really Intend to Kill Moses After so Heavily Recruiting Him?
Parshas VaYechi (2020): Why Did Yaakov Have a “Gentile” funeral?
Parshas VaYigash: The Revelation, Shock, and Heart-Attacks in the Parsha
Parshas Mikeitz (2020): Had They Succeeded in Killing Joseph, Would They Have Survived the Famine?
Parshas VaYeshev (2020): Why Doesn’t Joseph Try to Contact His Father?
Parshas VaYishlach (2020): Did Yaakov’s Children Really Have Idols? The Aftermath of the Massacre
Parshas VaYetzei: Where is the Yeshiva of Shem? Why is Yaakov There?
Parshas Toldos (2020): The Portentous Oracle – “Rav Yaavod Tzair”
Parshas Chayai Sara: The Strange and Enigmatic Keturah Story
Parshas VaYera: Whatever Happened to Lot, Anyway?
Parshas Lech Lecha: Abraham and the Two Fateful Interviews With Sodom and Malki Tzedek
Parshas Noach: Why Couldn’t G-d Think of an Alternative to Mass Genocide?
Parshas Bereishis: Blaming the Snake
Parshas Haazinu: The Interplay Between Divine Providence and Antisemitism
Parshas Nitzavim-VaYelech: What Does V’Hashevosah El L’Vovechah Mean and Can It Be Translated?
Parshas Ki Seitzei: Moshe Calls Attention to Various Dangerous Behaviors Between the Sexes
Parshas Shoftim: How to Be One’s Own Judge and Policeman
Parshas Re’eh: Moses Admonishes the Jews Not to Destroy the Bais HaMikdash….Hmm
Parshas VaEschanan: Shabbos- Theology or Gratitude?
Parshas Devarim: Does the Word “Devarim” Mean “Words” or “History”
Parshas Matos-Masei: Is Lebanon Part of Israel?
Parshas Pinchas: Strange Yichus – Pinchas, Potiphar, Shechem
Parshas Balak 2020: The Obscurities in the Account of the Punishment that Followed the Bnos Moav Story
Parshas Shelach: Canaanite Consumerism?
Parshas BeHaaloscha: The Menorah as a Symbol of Moral Leadership, Not Political
Parshas Naso: Can Sexuality Be Divorced From Prurience?
Parshas Bamidbar: The First Jewish Army in History?
Parshas Behar-Bechukosai: Is Recurring-Catastrophe a Basic Part of Jewish Destiny?
Parshas Emor: Are Kohanim Still Holy Nowadays?
Parshas Acharei Mos-Kedoshim: What Does “קדושים תהיו” Mean Nowadays? Really
Parshas Tazria-Metzora: The House That is Tamei
Parshas Shmini 2020 – The Mishkan as a National (Not Tribal) Institution
Parshas Vayikra: The “Sacrifice” of Self- Isolation: The Case of Moses
Parshas Vaykhel-Pekudei (Parshas HaChodesh) 2020: Two Concepts of “Shevisah” in the Coronavirus Era
Parshas Ki Tisa: What’s Worse – Amalek or the Golden Calf?
Parshas Zachor: Was Saul Really Responsible for Haman?
Parshas Terumah: Was the Mishkan Commanded During the First 40 Days of Moses on the Mountain?
Parshas Mishpatim. “Going up” to the Tetragramaton
Parshas Beshalach: Weren’t They Supposed to Head Towards Mt. Sinai Anyway?
Parshas Bo: The “Borrowers”
Parshas VaEra: The Ten Plagues as They Would Have Appeared to Egyptians and to Hebrews
Parshas Shemos: The Jews Who Didn’t Want to Leave
Parshas VaYechi: Canaanite Ancestors?
Parshas Vayigash: The Gaping Holes in the Narrative
Parshas Mikeitz: The Fifth Galus – Egypt
Parshas VaYeshev: Disunity in the Family
Parshas VaYishlach: The Rape of Dina in Kabbalistic Terms
Parshas VaYetzei: The Lavan Challenge in Jewish History and Meta-History
Parshas Toldos: Yitzchak and the Palestinians, 4,000 years ago
Parshas Chayai Sarah: Death and Shidduchim
Parshas Vayeira: Sodom – Then and Now
Parshas Lech Lecha The adventures of the childless couple
Parshas Noach: Disturbing Stories
Parshas Haazinu: Moses’ History of the Future
Parshas Vayelech: Pessimism on Shabbos Shuva?
Parashas Nitzavim and Rosh HaShanah
The Tochecha: Trying to Relate It to History and Current Events- Parshas Ki Savo
דברה תורה כנגד יצר הרע: Parshas Ki Seitzei
Parshas Shoftim: Political Science
Parshas Re’eh- Moses’ Prescient Warnings Against Syncretism
Parshas VaEschanan ואתחנן
Parshas Devarim: The Censorious Speech of Moses and Its Connection with תשעה באב
Parshas Balak- The Phenomenon of Moses’ Inability to Respond to Direct Challenges to His Authority
Parshas Korach: Provoking the Nuclear Option
פרשת שלח Parshas Shelach
Does the Torah Require Any ‘Secular’ Knowledge? Parashas Behaloscha
Parshas Nasso – Deference for Consensus
Parshas Bechukosai-The Tocahachah and Modern Times
Lag B’Omer- Parshas Behar
Parshas Kedoshim and the Passion – Imperative
פרשת מצורע-Parshas Metzora-Shabbos HaGadol
Parshas Tazria – Parshas Hachodesh – Parsha Perspective
Parshas Shmini: Nadav and Avihu – Parsha Perspective
Parshas Tzav – A text or a code? – Parsha Perspectives
Parshas Zachor – Where’s Amalek? – Parsha Perspectives
Parshas Pekudei – Parsha Persepctives
Parshas ויקהל – Parsha Perspectives
Parshas Ki Sisa – Why would they make the Golden Calf? – Parsha Perspective
Parshas Tetzaveh: Parsha Perspectives
Parshas Teruma: Parsha Persepctives
Parshas Mishpatim: Parsha Perspectives
Parshas Yisro – Fathers-in-law
Parshas Beshalach – Faith or Conviction?: Parsha Perspectives
Parshas Bo: Employer- Employee Relationships: Parsha Perspectives
Shemos: ‘Goshens’ Does Success Carry its own Ingredients for Failure?: Parsha Perspectives
Shemos – Moshe the Son of Pharaoh’s Daughter: Parsha Perspectives
Veyechi: Communicating…or not: Parsha Perspectives
Va’yigash: Joseph, Not a Dreamer but a Master of Dreams: Parsha Perspectives
Noach: The Tower of Babylon: Parsha Perspectives